The present invention relates to an inked ribbon cartridge, and more particularly to an endless inked ribbon cartridge for use in printers and typewriters.
The inked ribbon cartridge of this type comprises a chamber for receiving an inked ribbon, a guide arm for drawing out the inked ribbon from the receiving chamber, and a guide arm for feeding the inked ribbon into the receiving chamber, the inked ribbon being exposed between the two guide arms. Such inked ribbon cartridges are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,071,132 and 4,074,800.
In the devices of these patents, however, the inked ribbon is fully exposed between the guide arms, which has brought about such disadvantages that the inked ribbon may touch the paper to taint it, or stain the fingers of an operator, and that the inked ribbon may easily be severed accidentally.